Q4 Success Strategies

Happy Friday to all?627?(up from 603 last week)?of you reading this today!?

Interesting that Marc Benioff is looking to re-hire some of the staff he fired earlier this year. Shows the power of good quality relationships during volatile times.?

Today we will be covering:?

- Strategies to blow out your Q4.

Reading time: 2.5 minutes.

Don't seek to get into someone's budget.?

Help buyers create their 2024 plan and budget you in.?

Why is this important?

Sellers fall into the trap of acting as if the budget is the goal.?

The goal is to create a solid 2024 strategy and then budget what they need to achieve it!?

To do this, you must know 4 things.?

Macroeconomic Outlook

This is the environment your buyers and their companies are playing in. It is one of the critical components that drive their strategy.?

There are several sources to help you. Here are 3 examples:?

IMF?

OECD

KPMG

Big 4 consultancies and banks regularly provide economic updates and even give you their thoughts on how this will impact businesses.

Industry Trends

Information on industry trends is abundant. All you have to do is search on the internet. I also recommend using Porter's 5 Forces to help you understand it all and capture the trends in one place.?

The good news is there are a lot of people who have already created a Porter's 5 Forces for specific industries. Again, search online. Here is a good example of one created for the financial services industry.?

Company Finances & Annual Report

Finance is the language of business. Learn to speak the language if you want to do great business.?

If you want to learn, you can see my videos where Ted Wainman and I analyse the financials of 111 companies. You can scroll through the companies in the playlist.?

Read the quarterly reports and find words like "forecast" and "outlook" to see what leaders say about the future.?

If you want to analyse a financial report quickly, use ChatGPT to upload the document or copy and paste and ask it:?

"Analyse this quarterly statement and tell me what it says about their future forecasting and what they expect to happen in the future. Include any information they share about the causes of any challenges and their plans to overcome them."

If you sell to private companies, do an internet search of the company and type "Company X revenue and profit." You will be surprised by what information you find. Even if it's an estimate, it's better than pure guesswork.?

If you can't find the financials of your target company, then search for their public competitors. They will likely be facing similar challenges and circumstances. Mention them in your conversation with buyers and ask them, "I read Company Y is saying that....Are you facing something similar?"

You will earn their respect far more than lazy openings like, "What are your priorities and challenges?"?

Forecasting the future is hard. There are a lot of unknowns and dangerous assumptions. If your buyer sees you as a credible and smart source for demystifying those unknowns, you will be seen as a highly trusted?advisory source. You will get the lion's share of their attention and time.?

Talk About The Priorities And Strategy

Strategies are simple (not easy):?

Making bets in an infinite market with finite resources.

This means they have to make bets. They must deploy resources like money, people, tools etc towards an outcome. Leaders must demonstrate why more money towards them and their function is a better bet than someone else.

It is horse-trading. I have sat in several budget meetings. Emotions are high.?

Help them determine and prove which bets should be made to maximise results and improve your buyer's career and personal brand as a professional. Link your products and services to those bets. Then, talk about how much money is being allocated to all the resources to achieve those desired results.?

Don't start talking about budget. That is putting the cart before the horse. First, discuss the plan and the best being made. Once your buyer agrees on the best bets to make, and their contribution to that bet, discuss the money/resources required.??

Remember, you are only a portion of that solution. That means you represent a percentage. Your ROI is about your contribution towards that percentage.

Sneaky Budget

We all know that there can be some left-over budget that buyers will want to spend by the end of the year.

Buyers won't waste that money on anyone asking them for it.?

They will give that money to people they trust and their "friends".?

But, they will only do so if they see that the product and service will help them in 2024. So, you still need to understand the bets and plans being made and align your offering to them.??

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